Spiders
This section is for questions about spiders and insects that do not fit elsewhere. If you have a question about spiders or insects of any type, post it here for everyone to see. I am not an expert, but I do my very best to make sure your comments and pictures are posted as soon as possible.
One question about spiders that keeps popping up is how many spiders does humans eat without knowing it? The common response is that one to two spiders per day make their way into your mouth and trigger an involuntary response that causes a person to swallow the spiders.
That’s hogwash and in fact, spiders will avoid you when they can. Most of us sleep with our mouths closed unless we are snoring, and even sleeping, spiders crawling on your face will likely be brushed off before they would ever make their way into your mouth. Breathing alone would be enough to dissuade most spiders from crawling up your nose or into your mouth.
Chances are, you’ll eat more spiders than you’ll find crawling around your body. Did you know that the Food and Drug Administration has a set of guidelines that allow insects and parts to be included in certain food products? It applies to fruits and veggies, such as apples with worms, etc.
Written by Jim on February 4th, 2006 with
22 comments.
Read more articles on Spiders - Misc.
- [+] Digg: Feature this article
- [+] Del.icio.us: Bookmark this article
- [+] Furl: Bookmark this article
I have spiders at my house. im not sure what kind but i’m scared they will bite. No one I know has ever seen one like it. It’s about the size of a nickle and purple/red. I’m worried because one layed eggs in my room, and now i have a bunch of spiders crawling around. i don’t want to kill them if i don’t have to. Does anyone know what kind they are?
Well,
I am not an expert either, and I have nothing against spiders, but that will consider me to sleep with my mouth closed.
Anyway, I don’t think spiders should be crawling into my nose. That’s just wrong.
well, bye.
I just put a spider outside in the snow and now I’m feeling guilty if it wasn’t dangerous. It looked like a grass spider, but in addition to the white markings in the head section, it had a broader back section with an orange stripe down the back. I live in the foothills, at about 6600 feet. Thanks
I live in Philadelphia, PA and I’m unsure of the kind of spider I found in my bedroom. It’s white except the bottoms of the legs (the feet) are a dark color. It seems like a funnel web spider. It was crawling on a dresser I had been storing in my shed but has been in my room for a while. I put it in a tupperware container with small holes but i’m not sure what to feed it or anything. If anyone has any info please let me know.
I found a weird spider in my churches bathroom. It is just like a black widow except it has no hourglass on it’s belly and it is a brownish color with almost a checkerboard of dark brown and a sort of white color on it’s back. Anybody know what this is?
Bitten on face apparently while sleeping. Started as a small red area with a small blister in the center. The next day the blister was much larger, the area very red and swollen. Felt like I was fighting an infection. The third day the blister was even larger. Contacted doctor and he ordered oral antibiotic and an antibiotic cream. Fourth day, blister still very large but swelling and redness down. Fifth day doctor lanced blister. Thought it was possibly a black widow, said the area would probably be ulcerated for a while but that I had started medical treatment quickly and did not believe I would have any problems.
Any idea what might have bitten me. My symptoms seem more like a brown recluse than black widow. We had been cleaning out a large storage closet in our basement that is directly under our bedroom.
Thanks for any help you can give me.
Peggy
I found a huge spider in my house today (Utah) and I can’t find one on the web like it, this sounds crazy but it actually has ten legs and two big protruding points, like fangs. The extra legs or palps, are a bit larger and longer than the actual legs but look very similar. It has a very skinny but long body, kind of yellowish tan with some black, almost like a scorpion but definately isn’t. The body is about 1/2 in long with 1 in legs. Can someone help me with this, I have kids and worry that it might be poisonous. Thank you.
I have these little tiny round spiders in my house, everywhere. I have never had them or seen them before. They are really small, round, and kindof have a hard round body that crunches when you squash them. I find them in my bed, the counter and wall of my bathroom sink, and on the wall in the bedroom. I have not found them down stairs. I have had two spider bites and they swelled up and was about 3 quarter sizes big. The nurse at work was alittle worried about it but I am allergic to bees and she thought I could have been having a reaction. I can spray for them because I am also allergic to bombs and sprays. I just want to know what these things are. Thank you.
I need to identify a spider it was shaped just like a black widow but was dark brown with orange stipes lengthwise on the outer part of the sac. I killed it by drowning it in tilex cleaner. I am in central CA never seen one in my 50yrs.
my boyfriend was bit on the arm by a little black and white spider while at a cookout and instantly started to complain about tingling and numbness up his whole arm. the bite area was swollen to a bit larger than a quarter and felt very hard. after about 15-20 minutes later they veins in his arm were all bulging and up each vein spaced about 2 inches apart, were raised bumps in the veins.
the following day, the bite looks a bit better and the veins have calmed down, but then the vomiting started… he just told me that now he is having trouble breathing…
does anyone have any idea? he said he wont go to a doctor and i am pretty worried
My friend is seeking advice about this spider, the spider was to small to be seen yet after 2 hours of being bitten his arm, hand, and fingers were in pain. One bite caused his whole arm to go numb and burn up, he encountered the spider in his attic but he couldn’t see it to identify it, any clue what spider it was?
my bf had a bad experience with a spider a few weeks ago. He said that it was CLEAR with a blackish/yellow spot on its back. What kind of spider is that b/c I’ve done research and others have seen the same kind of spider. It must be some kind of new species of spider b/c noone has answers for it. Please if you have any information, respond.
I’ve lived on the west coast of south-central FLA for 30+ years and have seen a spider 3 times in the last 2 weeks (once at dusk, once in the early pre-dawn, and once at night) and have absolutely no knowledge of any previous sightings of this girl or her species on my part. Sorry, no pics. However, here’s what I can say.
Her abdomen is symetrically round and about the size of a dime. She’s a dull brownish-grey in coloration with no other discerning markings or hairy enough to determine if she has a “coat.” Legs are proportional to body size (unlike a female brown recluse) total body size slightly larger than 4-5mm.
She has made a web near an exterior door that is stunningly intricate (rectangular with the classic spiral pattern in the center) and has 4 anchors (2 on the ground and 2 on the roof of my home) that rises over 10 feet. All 3 times I have seen her, she seems to recognize my presence and the web is gone (literally) within an hour or 2 so she seems highly secretive. Furthermore, the time that I saw her at pre-dawn, my teacup chihuahua literally bounced off one of the web’s anchors and immediately came back inside.
Now I’m a true Floridian and have had my share of run-ins with recluses and really do like spiders (I won’t kill one in the house / trap it in a glass and take it outside), but this one concerns me just a bit as I might accidentally walk into her web and might get bitten. Is this some Central or South American transplant and is it possibly venomous (yes I saw “Arachniphobia” but I don’t need to call in John Goodman’s character…or do I?). I’d appreciate anyone’s input as to this marvelous creature.
I sleep in the same bed as my husband. 2 nights ago a spider must have been in bed with us because I woke up literally covered in bites all over my legs. They are huge, quarter sized, hard and HORRIBLY itchy. I cannot stand them, and he didn’t get bit once. He never gets bit and I’m alwasy covered in bites. I don’t know how to stop getting bit all the time. HELP!!!!
i was sitting in my house when suddenly my bro noticed a HUGE spider on the wall, i mean this thing was tarantula huge, and i have bite marks all over my right foot, idk what it is, if its poisonus, or if its even a native spider or an escaped neighbors pet.
it had a bigish butt, which was brown with a black triangle centered on it, and its butt was pretty much a flat circleish shaped, the head /body was smaller but pretty much same shaped. the legs were kinda short and fat, pls help quick i cant afford a doctor
im in florida by the way
Well i dont have a picture. they are so little! they are itty bitty little brown spiders that string down from the celing. they are about the size of a nail head. i dont think they have bit anything but it just amazes me. they are everywhere! im to scared to get close to them. but i dont want to kill them either. they are a tannish color and i live in KY so i was worried maby Brown recluse spider babies?
Last summer I found this spider that looked like a bee. I mean it really looked like a bee. I thought it might have been a poor bee stuck on a spider web untill i got a closer look and saw the legs and lack of wings. I still haven’t found anyone who could identify it. Unfortunately, at the time i didn’t think of taking a picture and it hasn’t returned this year.
I live in minnesota.
we found a spider silver with yellow and black stripes across the body belly was black about the size of a quarter leg span
Kay, so I just killed a spider in my room, and it was a pretty good sized one this time. It was probably just bigger than the size of a quater. I have been looking up spiders to see if I can identify the one i found in my room, and I haven’t found anything out. This spider was a dark brown, with two black stripes going down the biggest part of its body. It was not a brown recluse, wolf spider, or black widow. I’m sorry, I already killed it
so I do not have a picture. It was kinda fuzzy thoough, if that helps at all. Please tell me if you have any idea of what kind of spider this was !
I got bit by a spider a couple days ago. I have no idea what kind of spider it was, but it was red all around the bite, and some swelling, also. I went to the ER, and they gave me some antibiotics (Bactrim). They said it should get better in the next 10 days. Well, I’ve been taking the medicine for 4 days now, and it’s still swollen, and it tingles every now and then. Should I be worried?
Also, can I put ice on the bite, to help with the swelling?
Ok, well today I was outside with my friend we where playing baseball, so he hits a homerun. So I went into the bushes to get the ball, and i saw this spider web right by the ball. So i thought to my self oh if there is a spider it wont hurt me(I have a pet rose hair spider you know those big ones at the pet store). Psh i was wrong that spider came out and bite my arm, but luckly it wasnt deadly it was a little orb weaver spider. But, the bite hurts really bad tho and its really swollen too. But, no big deal. Oh i took the spider home cuz i cought it. Now he is my pet. lol he is really cool i will take pics and post them of him.